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Group Name: Vocal Union
Website: www.vocalunion.com
Album Title: “Just Like The Old Days”
Song Titles:
1. Just Like The Old Days
2. Get Away Jordan
3. Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
4. In The Palm Of Your Hand
5. There Have Been Healin’
6. Wake Up
7. Remind Me Dear Lord
8. Walk Right Out Of This Valley
9. In My Robe Of White
10. He Gave His Life

Vocal Union is an all-vocal a cappella group based out of Nashville, TN.  They are a part of The Acappella Company (www.acappella.org), which also contains such groups as Acapella and Durant.  I have long been a fan of the music put out by the groups of The Acappella Company, so I was excited to learn that I would have the opportunity to review this album.

Vocal Union got its start in 1995.  As their website states, “They began as a group of studio interns in 1995 experimenting with recording vocal arrangements of traditional gospel music.  The sound they produced found a niche in many churches around the country, and the decision was made in 1998 to make Vocal Union a touring group.”  Two of their past albums have won awards from the Contemporary Acappella Society Of America.  The group members on the album are as follows: Andrew Whitehouse (tenor), Brian Wiersma (bass), Corey Martin (tenor), Gary Miller (sub-bass), Ryan Thomas (baritone), and Nick Gaultney (vocal percussionist/tenor).  However, since this album was completed, Nick Gaultney has been replaced by Mateo Coronado.  Gary Miller is the group manager/leader, and he either wrote or arranged 5 of the 10 songs on the album.

While their previous two albums have explored a more contemporary side of the group, “Just Like The Old Days” is a return to the traditional sound that the group started with.  The album cover is done in a sepia-tone.  It is a close-up of an old-school AM/FM radio dial with the group name and album title at the top.  Inside the cover, you will find a couple of group pictures, one of which is labeled with the names of the vocalists.  Not only did they include the song lyrics (which I like), but they also went a step further and listed which group member sang the lead vocals on each song.  Needless to say, this makes my job as a reviewer much easier.

Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.

The opening song is the album’s title track.  “Just Like The Old Days” is an up-tempo song that features Andrew Whitehouse and Cory Martin on lead vocals.  The harmony and tight blend of the group are impeccable, and you really get the feeling that there is some sort of music playing in the background.  This leads into a song that Southern Gospel fans everywhere will recognize: “Get Away Jordan”.  This is another up-tempo song featuring Brian Wiersma on lead vocals.  Admittedly, Vocal Union’s version lacks a little bit of the sheer vocal power of the Dove Brothers’ version, but it more than makes up for it in the clearness and understandability of the lyrics.  I also like the fact that they stuck with a traditional arrangement of the song.

Song #3 is the medium-tempo Christmas favorite, “Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem”.  Featuring Nick Gaultney, Ryan Thomas, and Andrew Whitehouse, this is a very nice arrangement of this song.  The fourth song is another medium-tempo number entitled “In The Palm Of Your Hand”.  This is a slightly more progressively-arranged song that once again features Brian Wiersman on lead vocals. This is followed by a song called “There Have Been Healin’”.  As the title sort of suggests, this song has the feel of an old-time spiritual.  Cory Martin is featured on the lead vocals of this medium-to-up-tempo song. 

Brian Wiersma is once again the lead vocalist on the sixth song, “Wake Up”.  This is an up-tempo song that will definitely have listeners tapping their feet.  Song #7 slows the tempo down with a lighter, smooth ballad entitled “Remind Me”.  Nick Gaultney is featured on lead vocals here.  The next song is one that I first heard the group Won By One do years ago on their “Road Of Life” album.  “Walk Right Out Of This Valley” is an up-tempo song featuring Brian Wiersma on lead vocals.  Vocal Union’s arrangement is similar to Won By One’s version, but I think Vocal Union’s version is a cut above.

The ninth song is another familiar one to anyone who is a fan of Southern Gospel music.  Here we find Vocal Union tackling the Gold City standard “In My Robe Of White”.  As I mentioned above regarding “Get Away Jordan”, Vocal Union’s version lacks the sheer vocal power of Gold City’s version, but the slightly amended arrangement and the quality of the rendition make up for it.  Cory Martin does a good job on the lead vocals.  The album closes out on a slower note with the tenth song.  Andrew Whitehouse takes the lead on “He Gave His Life”, and it’s apparent from the beginning of the song that this was the perfect ending to this album. 

The Acappella Company is dedicated to quality a cappella, all-vocal music, and the Vocal Union upholds that tradition with no problem.  When it comes to a cappella singing, there’s no music for the vocalists to “hide behind”, so to speak.  Therefore, the vocals need to be spot-on.  This is, without a doubt, the case with this album.  I know that, a couple of times, I mentioned the lack of sheer vocal power as compared to other groups in Southern Gospel.  However, this is not a drawback to this album at all.  Vocal Union’s vocals, harmonies, and arrangements don’t call for sheer vocal power- it’s more finesse singing, which is plenty powerful enough.  Each of the vocalists has a clear tone to their voice and is obviously singing in a comfortable range.  Finally, I like how the group kept a traditional feel to the album while using some decidedly progressive harmonies, chord progressions, etc.  In short, it was my pleasure to review this album, and I would give it my first perfect rating of this year: 10 out of a possible 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Get Away Jordan”, “Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem”, “There Have Been Healin’”, and “Wake Up”